


See These Tears So Blue

by Andy_Bee



Series: In My Head [1]
Category: The Hobbit - All Media Types, The Hobbit - J. R. R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings - All Media Types
Genre: AU, Additional Warnings Apply, Additional Warnings In Author's Note, Brotherly Love, Child Abuse, Falling In Love, Foster Care, Heavy Angst, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Sad
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-17
Updated: 2017-01-19
Packaged: 2018-09-09 03:14:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 3,360
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8873581
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Andy_Bee/pseuds/Andy_Bee
Summary: A story of brotherly love and what brothers would do for each other out of sheer love..(Thranduil and Legolas in this story are brothers -  Starting with Thranduil at age 10 and Legolas at age 7, and ascending into adulthood)"Will you always love me?"  "Always."  "Will you always love me, too?""I always will.""And no one else?'""And no one else.""For a thousand years?""For a thousand years.""Forever?"“Forever.”





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This story is dark and very sad. However it is also a love story between two brothers. Please proceed with caution. If you are uncomfortable with any of the subjects mentioned, please stop reading. I'm terrible at tagging so I will try to put warnings at the beginning note. 
> 
> To my readers who requested this story to be posted. This one is for you. Thank you :D

***

"Stay here.  Don't go anywhere."  Thranduil whispered to his little brother. "And don't make a sound."

"No, no," Legolas whispered back, thin fingers clutching at his big brother's bony arm. "He'll see you and he'll hurt you."

"I'll be careful. Don't worry. He's sleeping. He won't know."

"I want to go with you."  Tears rolled down the younger boy's pinkish cheeks, and his crying set off a bout of hacking coughs. The older boy immediately scooted closer to rub his brother's back.  His baby brother's illness was getting worse.

"No, Las. You have to stay here."  Thranduil sounded like he was going to cry, too. It took all of his will power to keep strong for his brother even though his heart was filled with terror.  He needed to go upstairs to get the Tylenol for Legolas. "Go hide under the bed Las, and don't come out until I tell you to come out, okay?"  

"No. Please don't go, Thran."

"We don't have a lot of time. He'll wake up soon.  Here..."  Thranduil got up and went to get his ragged school backpack by the bed, and unzipped it.  He took out the carrots that he had saved from lunch at school and gave them to Legolas. "eat these."  

Legolas reached for the carrot sticks like they were golds and he held them tight in his little fist.

"Now. Go hide under the bed. I'll be right back."

Legolas looked at his big brother with tears filled eyes, but finally he did what he was told.   He hugged his brother tightly before he crawled under the bed, and pulled a thin blanket that was already there over his head.  

Thranduil checked to make sure Legolas was well hidden before he climbed, barefoot, quietly up the crooked steps to the upstairs.  His skinny frame shook with fear.

  

***

The upstairs was pitch black.  Thranduil waited a moment to let his eyes adjusted to the darkness before he quickly snuck into the bathroom where he opened the medicine cabinet and took out the bottle of Tylenol.  He poured out some of the white pills and put them in his pants pocket.  He gently put the bottle back where he found it.  Then he tiptoed out of the bathroom.

Next, he quietly walked into the kitchen where he lifted a few slices of the bread that was on the kitchen counter and put them into the pockets of his worn-out sweater.    He was just about to put the third slice of bread in his pocket when all of sudden something hard connected with his back and he crumpled to the floor, the wind completely knocked out of him.

"I'll teach you never to steal again. You little thief!"  His uncle roared.

The light was suddenly switched on, and blinding brightness flooded the room.  

The boy gasped and he tried to crawl away, but he wasn't fast enough.  His uncle grabbed him by his long, blonde locks and jerked him backward.  He threw the skinny boy across the kitchen like a rag doll, and into the wall where he landed on the floor in a boneless heap.

 

***

Legolas heard it!  The horrid sound of his uncle's thunderous voice.  The heart-rending sound of his brother's thin body hitting the wall with a loud bang.  And he knew.  He dropped his carrot sticks.  He opened his mouth in a silent scream.  Nooooooo!  His beloved brother.  His beautiful Spring. A vision of red swam in his head as the pain hit him.  He could feel it in his soul, his heart, his body, and his bones when he heard the repeated strikes of flesh against flesh reverberated within the walls.   And then he heard his love's aguish screams of pain and terror, and Legolas opened his mouth again.  This time he let out a piercing scream, and he didn't stop. He kept on screaming, screaming, and screaming...

They screamed in unison. The sound of their torturous cries intertwined and ricocheted all over the house. Their heartbreaking cries shattered the windows and carried by the howling wind down the darkening road where they woke up all the sleepy heads as well as all the sleepless heads causing all to weep with them.  

 

***

  


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once again. Thank you all for your sweet words. 
> 
> The first few chapters are short but they will get longer. I have the first three chapters done, so I'll post the third chapter soon. Then after..it will take a bit more time :D

***

 

If it wasn't for the blood, Thranduil looked like he could have been sleeping. But his brother wasn't sleeping.

Legolas knew that.

He fell to his knees beside his brother. He dropped back from his knees and gathered his love's limp body with him to cradle in his lap. His tears poured freely, in sheets, splashing onto his brother's colorless face like a monsoon.

"Wake up my beautiful Spring. It is time to wake up. You are safe now...safe now." Legolas' lips trembled. He whispered quietly into his brother's ear like how he used to do when he was whispering a secret that only they shared. "He's gone. You don't have to pretend anymore. You can wake up now. Wake up to me..."

Thin fingers gently brushed back silky blonde locks. Thin fingers stained red.

Soft lips kissed soft lips. Soft lips stained red.

 

***

That was how the paramedics found the boys.

The younger one sitting on the floor with older's body in his arms. His eyes vacant.

They had to pry the older one from the younger one's grip.

"We are here to help your brother. We will take care of him." They assured the boy.

The boy stared at them with blank eyes. His tears so blue..so blue...

He looked so lost.

"He is in shock!" Someone yelled!

An EMT knelt down beside the small boy, and scooped him into his arms, holding him tenderly as the boy slowly went slack against his chest.

"Go, go, go!" Someone else shouted!

Another EMT lifted the older boy gently up, white pills fell out of the boy's pants pocket..one pill at a time hitting the wooden floor with a clicking sound. Click, click, click...

 

***


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tada! Chapter 3.
> 
> Happy Holidays to everyone! :D

 

*******

 

 **PLACE:** Mordor Group Home

 **SERVICE:** Provide temporary housing for emotional trouble, abused, runaway boys and girls

 **GRADUATION:** Placement in Foster Home.

 

Their belongings beside what they had on them consisted of a brown box containing two toothbrushes, one half used Colgate toothpaste, one comb, two hair ties, one set of clothing each, two worn-out sweaters, one pair of socks each, one thin blanket, a notebook, two number-two pencils, two name tags that someone had written: Legolas age 7, and Thranduil age 10 on them, and two identical photos of them sitting with their arms around each other— matching blonde heads, matching blue eyes, and matching sunny smiles...one with dimples and one without. 

They were inseparable.

That was what they were known for.

The inseparable blondes.

The older boy would take his younger brother's hand in his wherever they went.

When one saw the older, one would surely see the younger.

The older boy wore his waist long, white blonde hair loose.

The younger boy wore his shoulder length, golden blonde hair in a half did fishtail braid. 

They had been at the group home for just a few days.

They still had a lot to learn.

Mordor Group Home was mean.

The children were mean.

But what no one knew was that the boys had seen meaner.

And what no one prepared for was that the boys would do anything to protect each other.

  

***

Thranduil stared out the window.  It was a starless night... 

He was glad Tauriel, the care staff, had Legolas and him shared the same room.

He felt Legolas climbed into bed.  His brother cuddled up beside him, his head on Thranduil's shoulder.

Thranduil put an arm around Legolas' waist.

He felt his brother's tears on his skin, but he kept quiet.

His own tears leaked out of his eyes and he didn't bother to wipe them away.

For a while, they thought they would not have a sibling to take care of anymore, and it nearly killed them both.  They would never live without each other.

"Promise you would never leave me?"  Legolas whispered softly. It was almost inaudible but Thranduil heard him.

"I promise."

"You promise you would never leave me?"  Thranduil whispered back. 

"I promise."

"Will you always love me?"  

"Always."  

"Will you always love me, too?"

"I always will."

"And no one else?'"

"And no one else."

"For a thousand years?"

"For a thousand years."

"Forever?"

“Forever.”

“Promise?”

“Promise.”

Thranduil pulled up the thin blanket to cover them both.

"What are you doing, Las?"

"I'm giving you a goodnight kiss."

"Oh, okay but your breath stinks"

"Really? But I just brushed."

"I'm kidding."

“Haha. Very funny.”

Thranduil laughed softly, and that made Legolas giggle.

"What are you doing, Thran?”

"I'm giving you a goodnight kiss back.”

“I could feel your tongue.”

“That’s because it’s a French kiss.”

“What’s a French kiss?”

“I saw a picture of a girl kissing a guy in the one of the hospital magazines.  They kissed with their tongues, and they called it ‘French kissing’.”

“That’s weird.”

“Whatever. I’ll get better at it.”

“I like it.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, I do.”

“Cool.”

“I’ll French kiss you next time."

“Okay, Las."

"I'm cold."

"Me too."

"Would you hold me tighter?"

"Okay."

"Don't let me go."

"I'll never let you go."

"I love you."

"I love you, too."

"Goodnight, Las."

“Goodnight, my Spring."

Thranduil turned and looked at his brother.  In the dark, his brother's light eyes shone like a kaleidoscope.  It was a starlit night after all...

 

***

 


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi Everyone! :) 
> 
> Sorry for the late update. I have been sooooooo busy with so much going on with life and school... Anyway, I'm back for another chapter. I'm hoping to update this story every Tuesday? Thank you for reading and commenting. Enjoy!

***

 

“Hi, Legolas. I’m so glad to meet you.”  The lady with blonde hair said cheerfully, and it made Legolas nervous. 

‘Why is she being so nice?’  He thought.  No one was ever nice to him except for his brother.  

He stood still in the middle of the social services office staring at her, his fingers playing with the hem of his too long and too worn out sweater. He wore two green sweaters today.  One over another.  His sweater was so threadbare that it was almost transparent so his brother gave him his own sweater which was even more tattered to wear as another layer to keep warm.  Legolas loved wearing his brother’s sweater.  It smelled like Thranduil, and it made him feel good.  It was like having his brother next to him, like..totally on his skin— like…how they always cuddled together in bed, naked, skin-to-skin to keep each other warm.

Thinking about his brother it calmed him.  He wondered why this lady wanted to meet with just him.  She should meet his brother, too.  Thranduil was very wise.  He knew everything!

“He is so adorable, even more than his picture…Just like a little angel,”  The blonde lady said to Tauriel, her face beaming with delight. 

“And very well behaved too,”  Tauriel said.  “He had never once got into trouble or fight since he’s been here.”

The lady nodded her head, pleased.  Then she looked over to the dark-haired man sitting next to her, and she smiled at him. He seemed pleased, too, for he winked and grinned happily back at her. 

“My name is Galadriel,”  The blonde lady said. She pushed her chair back and walked over to where Legolas was standing.  She extended her hand to him, and Legolas shyly shook her hand.  The lady’s hand felt so big.

“Come.”  She held his smaller hand in her and walked him over to the table.  “I have a couple of presents for you,”  Galadriel said warmly.  She grabbed a brown bag from the table and opened it to show him his presents.  Inside the bag was a small, brown, stuffed teddy bear, and a coloring book, along with a box of crayons. 

Galadriel took the teddy bear out from the bag and she handed it to him.

Legolas hesitantly reached for the bear, awe was written all over his face.  He thought he might be in a dream because how else could he be getting such awesome presents?  He wished Thranduil could get presents, too.  His brother loved coloring so he would have loved the coloring book. 

Legolas held the bear for a moment, not sure what to do with it. Then slowly, he hugged the teddy bear close to his chest. 

 

***

Thranduil stared at the man wearing a name tag, Mr. Alfred, in shocked, unable to process what the man had just told him.

“I…I don’t understand.”  He swallowed hard. “Wh-what do you mean ‘just Legolas’?  He’s my brother. You can’t split us up.  Please.  We need to be together.”  He spoke weakly, his voice shook with fear.  Tears threatened to spill out of his eyes.  This couldn’t be happening.  It just couldn’t be real, his brain told him.

“Stop being a naughty boy, and listen.”  The man said harshly.  He moved to grab Thranduil’s thin wrist in a bruising grip, causing the boy to wince in pain. “You have been causing trouble and been in more fights than I could count since you’ve been here. No one wants a trouble maker. Besides, not all foster families can or want to take in more than one kid.”

“Please….I promise I won’t cause any more trouble.  I wasn’t fighting. I was just trying to protect myself and my brother.  I promise next time it won’t happen again.  Please…don’t take my brother away.  He needs me to take care of him.”  Thranduil sobbed, unable to hold back his tears anymore.  He looked helplessly at Alfred.  The next time, if Azog and his brother Bolg decided to come after him again, he promised himself that he would never try to fight them off, that he would take whatever punishment they give him.

What would he do without his brother?  How was he supposed to live without Legolas?  

“Thranduil.  You can’t possibly take care of your brother.  You are too young.  Your brother is very lucky because the family that wanted him is a very loving family.  This is good for him.  He will be able to have a healthy, normal life.  Now you be good and get yourself together. Don’t you want your brother to be happy?”  Alfred explained to him, none too gently.

“Please…”  Thranduil cried, not hearing Alfred.  “We need to be together.  My brother can’t live without me and I can’t live without him….We need to be together… I promise I’ll be good.  Please..”   How could they even think about taking away the only person he had left to live for!? 

“Stop your crying,”  Alfred said irritably. “It had been decided. Think about how nice it would be for your brother to be in a loving home.  Now gather yourself together.  If all goes well, Legolas will be with his foster parents in two days.”

With that said, Alfred walked out of his office, leaving the distraught boy to himself, sitting in the room alone, frightened and crying.

 

***

 


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this is the end! Thank you all for reading. Your kudos and comments mean so much to me, and I'm so very appreciated of them.
> 
> I believe.. with fragility comes determination..
> 
> Love to all and please stay strong! xxxxx <33 ♡

***

 

They were told not to worry.  The staff assured them that they would eventually reunite again, and so with that belief, they held out hope. 

Their separation was inevitable so they made a pact they would find each other one day soon.

“We will find each other. ”  They promised one another. “It won’t be long. And our love— our love is forever, and it is pure and it shines like pearls.”

However, with a sad heart, I’m here to inform you that their reunion didn't come until eight years later and when it came… it came with high prices…But that would be in another story, you will see…

 

***

On their last night together, they took their last bath together.  They sat in the bathtub, naked, washing each other’s hair and back.  

All the while they wept together, crying for one another, feeling the tears fell tenderly down their faces.  

When they were done with their bath.  They went to collect the stars as they often did.

They snuck out into the garden late at night, and under the heaven’s light, they climbed high up the old oak tree.

Higher and higher they climbed until they reached the top of the tree where they found a safe spot that they could comfortably sit side by side.

Up high in the canopy, they were in their own oasis.

Around them, everything was swallowed in black but they weren’t scared for they had each other.  

They turned their pale faces upward, to the band of light made out of glittering stars.  The stars greeted them and they promptly gathered the shiny jewels in their hearts and minds.  

"Is this the Milky Way, Thran?" Legolas turned to face his brother, and he whispered softly. "Are we under it now?"

Thranduil gazed into his brother's radiant eyes and he smiled, "We are. We are under the Milky Way's glowing lights." He reached up, pretended to catch the luminous rays in the palm of his hand. Then quickly, he blew the invisible beams in Legolas' direction. "And now, the lights are in your eyes."

Legolas blinked, then he laughed.

A breeze swept gently along, caressing their hair and chilling their skin. 

“We should get inside,”  Thranduil said and Legolas nodded in agreement.

“Come on, I’ll race you,”  Thranduil said, and Legolas’ heart started to pump.  He looked mischievously at his big brother before he quickly climbed down the tree, giggling along the way.

And happiness.  And laughter.  And joy filled them as they raced back inside. It was their innocence that saved them for even in the depth of sadness, they were blessed with moments of being carefree.

 

***

That night, they laid in bed frantically grasping at every memory of each other.  They felt each other’s flesh, memorizing every line and every curve.

They held each other in a tight embrace, tasting the salt in each other's tears.

The night went on and in their dreams of floating stars and whirl of lights that they hid from their pain. Somehow they were able to find peace in their sleep, filling the air space between them with their soft breaths and the heat of their bodies.

 

***

 

The daylight came and they were taken to see Legolas’ new parents.

Thranduil struggled to carry the small brown box containing his brother’s belongings— One comb, one hair tie, one set of clothing, two worn-out sweaters (he gave Legolas his sweater ‘just in case’ his little brother needed more than one sweaters..), one pair of socks, one thin blanket, a notebook, one number-two pencil, one coloring book, one box of crayons, one teddy bear, and one photo of them sitting with their arms around each other— matching blonde heads, matching blue eyes, and matching sunny smiles...one with dimples and one without.  In addition to Legolas' belongings, Thranduil also made sure to pack a bag containing the food he had saved over the last two days after he learned that his brother was going to a new home.  They were all the meals that he didn’t eat so his brother could have them.  

It had all happened so fast. Thranduil vaguely remembered handing over the box to the waiting hands of Legolas’ new dad.  The man smiled so wide that it made him burst out in tears.

The next thing Thranduil knew, Legolas had clung to him crying and screaming that he didn’t want to go.  They clung to each other, not knowing how to let go, not wanting to let go.  

There were hands prying them apart, and Legolas screamed and screamed. He screamed for himself. He screamed for his brother. He screamed for the life he was about to lose without his love by his side. He screamed as they carried him crying out of the group home, and into the awaiting car. 

Then Thranduil thought he had screamed, too.  He didn’t know for sure but he thought he did.  Around him, everything pitched to black and the only light he saw was a glimpse of gold.

 

***

There were two cars leaving the group home that day.

One was a black sedan taking the younger boy to his new home by the sea…

Later, it was a white ambulance taking the older boy to the nearby hospital…

Their tears so blue…oh, so blue.

 

***

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> "There is a courage in loving fiercely."


End file.
